Project management is at a crossroads,
with long-held traditions and practices challenged by promising newer approaches. As the profession matures, it will include even more of an emphasis on people skills, a push for more enterprise-wide infiltration and new ways to educate practitioners—and executives—on project management practices. The question is which areas of development and research will be embraced and which will fall to the wayside as mere fads.
A group called Rethinking Project Management has been seeking to identify directions for how the discipline might be extended and enriched for the 21st century. Funded by the U.K. government, this research network of academics and practitioners saw a gap between conventional project management theory and the developing practice, says Mark Winter, Ph.D., principal investigator of the group, which closed last January. He also teaches at the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, U.K. “One of the key issues is that, in regards to project management education, there ought to be a significant shift from training to learning,” he says. Project management must move toward “the development of reflective practitioners who can learn, operate and adapt effectively in complex project environments through experience, intuition and the pragmatic application of theory in practice.”
The question is which areas of development and research will be embraced and which will fall to the wayside as mere fads.
The challenge of the future is not identifying or mastering a stagnant body of knowledge or standardizing practice, says Janice Thomas, Ph.D., program director of the online executive MBA in project management at Athabasca University Centre for Innovative Management, St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. Rather, the test will be developing master project managers capable of diagnosing flaws in current project management and developing new approaches.
“These new project managers will be innovative, creative professionals—not rigid, tactical technicians,” she says. Organizations must invest in developing an understanding of what strategic project management looks like for them and then create the environment to support its development, she says. “Growing away from the quick-fix approach to a longer-term investment in the human and organizational resources necessary to support successful projects in complex environments will lead to long-term strategic advantage for many organizations.”
A Failing Grade
Organizations should foster the mentoring of junior project managers by more experienced ones. “Classroom training and workshops provide theoretical knowledge, but experience is the best teacher,” according to James Greene of Redtoo AG, Reinach, Switzerland. He also is vice president, communications for PMI's Switzerland Chapter. “A project manager who has a mentor will be more willing to assume responsibility and take calculated risks than someone who has had classroom training and then is left to [his or her] own devices.”
Many large companies spend considerable money developing project management and system delivery methodologies, but fail when it comes to user education. Following the company's methodologies becomes an exercise in doing the paperwork without any real understanding.
Take the transition from the project phase into the operational phase, for example. “As project managers, we focus on our project, and on delivering in scope, on time, on budget and on quality,” he says. “But we often forget or neglect the fact that the development is just the beginning. When we have finished the project, the product life cycle is just beginning. These two phases—project management and operational management—must move closer together.”
A Better Blend
After a tremendous growth in project management tools, principles and tactics, expect a new push for improving people skills.
“Traditionally, the people side of project management … has not always received the attention it deserves, but this may change,” says Mark Ives, practice leader, project management practice at Meta PM Pty Ltd., a project management consultancy in Melbourne, Australia. “This may be the area of focus that astute and progressive education providers target.”
People skills are becoming more of an issue because project managers are no longer looked at as just being implementers. “The best project managers are now very strong business personnel,” says J. Davidson Frame, Ph.D., PMP, dean at the University of Management and Technology, Arlington, Va., USA. “The project manager needs to be much more dynamic in today's environment.”
There should a better blend between the business and technical components. “Professionals in project management need to be able to deal effectively with individuals trained in various disciplines,” he says.
Enterprise Infiltration
Project management is at a major turning point, according to Dick Faris, chief technology officer, Primavera Systems Inc., Bala Cynwyd, Pa., USA. “While there is an increased understanding of the importance of project management, there also are increased challenges to its successful execution.”
Forward-thinking companies need to foster leadership skills in their project managers. “There is a very definite separation between leaders and doers in most companies,” he says. “Project managers often tend to be unfairly lumped with the doers when, in fact, companies need to harness their leadership skills, utilizing their specialized knowledge to run the organization more efficiently.”
Moving Up
PMI WILL SOON INTRODUCE a new credential for individuals who manage programs. Candidates will be judged on their knowledge, skills, capabilities and job experience. They must pass an exam and multi-rater assessment as well as a comprehensive review of their experience.
Applicants also must abide by a code of professional conduct and maintain the credential through PMI's Continuing Certification Requirements Program.
The credential will provide program managers with a distinct advantage in capitalizing on new opportunities or increasing their visibility within an organization. The certification also will give employers a means to distinguish whether employees possess the skills needed for effective program management.
The challenge will be finding trained, certified project managers who can lead their organizations into a new era of project management, Mr. Faris says. The top project managers “not only have the financial and project management skills needed to measure project success and return on investment, but also have the leadership skills to change the way the organization works.”
Penetrating Professions
Although project management has been openly embraced by some industries, others have yet to adopt its principles. The legal arena is a prime example of an industry that has routinely shunned project management. That's changing at Morris, Manning & Martin LLP, Atlanta, Ga., USA. Implementing project management has been a way to differentiate the legal firm's services, says partner Grant Collingsworth. “While all lawyers are focused on delivering good legal results, we found that there were very few who really focused on how best to handle a legal matter, whether it is running a case or transaction,” he says. “In addition to substance, we found that clients also wanted on-time results with an emphasis on meeting the budget.”
In Demand
AS THE TREND toward formal project management training and certification continues, the pool of competent project managers increases as well. This means that project managers need a more mature skill set to succeed. Here are some of the hottest job skills in the new world of project management:
Insightful intuitiveness. Interpret and understand organizational strategies, strengths and weaknesses on a broad front. “Project managers need to understand how they relate to the organization's ability to initiate and implement projects,” says Gary Bridgman, PMP, of Focus Group.
Masterful mediation. Act as an interface between project teams and the rest of the organization. “They should be able to identify conflicts and negotiate compromises that benefit both the organization and the project,” says Janice Thomas, Ph.D., Athabasca University.
Strong leadership. Resolve conflicts, negotiate and communicate at all levels. “They need to be able to deal with ambiguity and confusion and know how to motivate people,” says Marty Wartenberg, University of California, Irvine, Calif., USA. “These are rarely things that an organization can teach an individual, but this is what accomplishes strong deliverables.”
Strategic guidance. Manage complex strategic projects and coach less experienced project managers. “These senior practitioners are much less tactical implementers and much more strategic facilitators,” Dr. Thomas says.
Business acumen. Understand performance measurement, earned value and financial project management in light of increased reporting requirements including Sarbanes-Oxley. “Companies cannot afford to overlook the importance of individuals with these true business skills,” says Dick Faris of Primavera Systems.
True communication. “Although in principle everyone agrees that this is vital, in practice its application remains poor,” says J. Davidson Frame, Ph.D., PMP, University of Management and Technology. “Project managers need to know how to convey issues to avoid surprises. This means dealing with peers, managers, team members and customers both orally and in other media environments.”
There has been some resistance, Mr. Collingsworth says. “While it may be a while before the profession has widespread acceptance at the firm level, there is tremendous potential within corporate in-house legal departments,” he says. “This is especially true since many of these Fortune 500 firms have already integrated project management into other departments.”
Project-Friendly Management
The profession also must address a widespread lack of awareness among senior and middle management regarding projects and project management, says Gary Bridgman, PMP, director of Focus Group Ltd., a business intelligence consultancy in Fendalton, Christchurch, New Zealand. He also is president of PMI's New Zealand Chapter.
“Project awareness and the management skills required in dealing effectively with projects and project managers are generally deficient within the wider management group. Clearly, this leads to frustrated project managers and less satisfactory project outcomes,” he says. “It seems that organizations are missing out on some of the benefits of effective project management by not looking at training and awareness on a wide-enough front. While they are beginning to recognize the need to invest in competent project managers, they have not yet recognized the need for competent project-aware and -friendly general managers.”
Progressive firms are instituting organization-wide training and awareness programs for staff and management who interface with projects, Mr. Bridgman says. “The need for an organizational project focus will often not be recognized until sufficient key decision-makers and support staff have already been through an awareness-raising program—something along the lines of ‘project management for non-project managers.’”
Standard Issue
AS THE PROFESSION LOOKS FOR TOOLS for the future, PMI has released two new standards addressing program and portfolio management.
“Organizations invest in their future by initiating programs and projects, collected into portfolios that will enable them to achieve strategic objectives and provide the greatest benefit to stakeholders,” says Danielle Moore, a marketing specialist for PMI. “Programs and portfolios, like projects, are a means of achieving organizational objectives and benefits. With the strong relationship among projects, programs and portfolios to corporate strategy and organizational operations, the utilization of program and portfolio management processes and skilled program and portfolio managers continues to rise.”
The Standard for Program Management describes the processes for managing multiple projects and non-project activities within a program environment. The processes documented within The Standard are generally recognized as good practices to successfully manage a program as it relates to organizational objectives.
The Standard for Portfolio Management details the processes applicable to portfolio management. It provides the methods for portfolio managers to take a comprehensive view of portfolios, group them for the most effective management and ensure the components within each are aligned with the organization's strategic objectives.
Rethinking Project Management also identified this as an area for further research. According to the group, the industry is heading toward “concepts and approaches that facilitate broader and ongoing conceptualization of projects as being multidisciplinary, having multiple purposes, not always predefined, but permeable, contestable and open to renegotiation throughout.”
Projected Progression
As project management takes a firmer hold, executives need more tools for understanding why projects succeed or fail and how to properly align them with the organizational strategy. This has prompted a growing interest in portfolio and program management. PMI has addressed the trend with a new certification for program managers and the debut of The Standard for Portfolio Management and The Standard for Program Management.
“Executives have a huge impact on projects whether they manage them or not. They need to know what they can do and need to do to in order to influence success, and this means having a structured yet broad view,” says John Cable, PMP, director of the project management program at the A. James Clark School of Engineering, College Park, Md., USA, and chair of PMI's Global Accreditation Center. “Conceptually, having the portfolio and program standards in place will help companies in adopting the new way of thinking.” PM
Peter Fretty, a Whitehall, Mich., USA-based freelance writer, has appeared in more than 40 consumer and trade magazines.